Group urges international ties

setcor me!!

By Prabhat Mehta

MIT must maintain and enhance its international ties if it is to
fulfill its mission and serve the interests of the nation, a recently
released report from the Faculty Study Group on the International Relations
of MIT concludes.

The 13-member study group recommends continued support and development of
programs that foster international linkages, such as the MIT Japan Program
and the controversial Industrial Liaison Program.

"Occasionally," the report, titled The International Relationships of
MIT in a Technologically Competitive World, states, "there may be major
conflicts between national and international roles." And in these cases
"the administration, with the advice of the faculty, should give primary
weight to the general responsibility to the nation."

However, the study group argues, "To remain a premier institution
requires that MIT be thoroughly engaged in international activities
in science and technology; it must be a full participant in the world trade
in ideas."

"A set of basic principles"

"The things we recommend are not drastic changes," study group chair
Eugene B. Skolnikoff '49, a professor of political science, said last week.
The report's primary purpose is to "lay out a set of basic principles"
concerning international relationships, he explained.

The report describes MIT's primary mission as one of "fostering education
and advancing knowledge for the betterment of mankind." At the same time,
the report states, MIT is "a national institution rooted in American
culture and traditions and an integral part of the nation's education and
research system."

"MIT's responsibility to the nation mandates a strong interest in
America's economic health, calling for programs and activities that go
beyond the Institute's basic contribution through education and research,"
the study group adds. "In particular, we recommend an intensification of
MIT's traditional mission of

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transfer of knowledge to the community at large, especially to American
industry."

Aiding American industry, however, does not mean excluding foreign
companies or personnel from participating in Institute activities, the
report states. In fact, at several points the report argues that foreign
ties should be enhanced to serve the national interest.

Specific issues addressed

The study group specifically addresses four areas in which questions
about international linkages arise: (1) students, alumni and faculty; (2)
access to research at MIT; (3) cooperation with institutions in other
countries; and (4) public service and other programs.

The subject of access to research at MIT is further broken down into
seven sub-categories: (1) visiting faculty, post-docs and research
scientists; (2) support of research; (3) faculty consulting and off-campus
visits; (4) commercialization of results of research; (5) gifts; (6)
licensing of MIT patents, start-up companies; and (7) ILP.

In each of the four areas and seven sub-categories, the study group
supports the inclusion of foreign students, alumni, and corporations and
other institutions.

Regarding ILP, for instance, the report notes that while 121 of the 245
corporate members were foreign (as of March 1991), US firms have five times
as many contacts with faculty outside ILP as through it.

According to the study group, "This explains in part why foreign
companies tend to have a higher level of activity in the ILP than their
American counterparts, for those companies have greater difficulty (for
cultural, linguistic and geographical reasons) than American firms in
developing their own direct relationships with the faculty."

Founded in 1948, ILP provides firms "more efficient access" to current
MIT research. MIT charges a fee, though the access firms receive for their
fee is not exclusive.

ILP became a focus of controversy during the summer of 1989 when a
congressional subcommittee investigated the program's ties to foreign
firms. The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Human Resources and
Intergovernmental Affairs, Rep. Theodore S. Weiss (D-NY), singled out ILP
as a technology transfer program that sells the results of federally
financed research to foreign firms.

The study group, appointed in 1990 by then Provost John M. Deutch '61,
has in part been attempting to address the concerns raised by the
congressional subcommittee.

"In the past few years there has been a growing concern that our ties to
foreign companies may be hurting US economic interests," Skolnikoff said.
"It was becoming an increasingly sensitive political issue."

Despite these concerns, the report recommends expanding some
international interests. For instance, the report states that MIT's Tokyo
office, established over 10 years ago to facilitate interaction with
Japanese firms and government, "offers an opportunity to increase diffusion
of knowledge about the Japanese scientific and technological community."
And for this reason, the report recommends that the Tokyo office's role be
expanded and that consideration be given to establishing a similar office
in Europe.

The Tokyo office has been seen by some as "causing MIT to favor Japanese
companies in the ILP," the report states.

The study group also recommends that the "international dimension" of
MIT's undergraduate curriculum be strengthened. "Our undergraduate
education should be broadened," Skolnikoff said. "Students need to have a
better sense of the world they live in."

While the study group reaffirms MIT's international relationships, it
also calls on MIT to increase its efforts to aid the national economy. For
instance, it recommends that MIT faculty try to further facilitate transfer
of technology to American industry. In addition, the study group calls on
MIT to contribute to the improvement of American science education at the
primary and secondary school levels.

In the future, when questions regarding the appropriateness of
international activities arise, the views of the Faculty Committee on
International Institutional Commitments should be sought, the report
states.